The Sacred Heart is a powerful devotion and has led many people to rediscover their faith. It is my hope that many people in our parish will be enlivened by this devotion and it will be a source of blessing to all of us. When Jesus spoke with St. Margaret Mary about this devotion, he made several promises to those who follow this devotion and dedicate their lives to him. Here are the twelve promises of Our Lord Jesus to St. Margaret Mary for those devoted to His Sacred Heart:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will establish peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their troubles.

4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.

5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.

9. I will bless the homes in which an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.

10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.

12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

Powerful stuff, I am sure you would agree… Please continue to pray for the successful completion of this endeavor!

-Fr. Paul

For the last few weeks we have been learning about St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and the devotion to the Sacred Heart. It is time to start planning how the consecration to the Sacred Heart will take place in our parish. I have already presented an initial plan to our Knights of Columbus Council and they are eager to help me in the process. One of the key elements of the consecration is that each family have an image of the Sacred Heart in their home as well as an “enthronement” package that includes the prayers of consecration as well as the promises to those who partake in this devotion. I would like to be able to provide these packets free of charge to each parish family.

One of our Knights of Columbus, Bob Quast, stepped forward with an idea to help raise funds for the purchase of these packets. Bob is a member of St. Peter’s Parish in Buffalo and recently wrote his “educational autobiography,” a book entitled Life 101. In this book Bob talks about his faith, his business experience, family tragedy, lobbying congress, and everything from fast cars to first communion. It is a reflection on how his Catholic Faith has touched every aspect of his life and what he has learned along the way. While it may not earn an Imprimatur for theology, it is an interesting point of view on life from the standpoint of a good Catholic gentleman. Bob has generously donated a number of freshly printed copies to the parish and you can find them for sale ($20) in the parish office or in the hall after Sunday Mass. All proceeds will go directly to fund our Sacred Heart enthronement packets for the parishes.

Soon I will order the enthronement packets and we can begin practicing the enthronement prayers together. Once everyone has a firm grasp on the prayers and the nature of the devotion, we will schedule a date to make the consecration together as a parish family. Please pray for the successful completion of this endeavor! For more info, head over to www.enthronement.org and take a look at some of their resources.

Fr. Paul

As we continue to prepare for our parish’s consecration to the Sacred Heart, here is a bit more info on the devotion:

St. Margaret Mary wrote, "And He [Christ] showed me that it was His great desire of being loved by men and of withdrawing them from the path of ruin that made Him form the design of manifesting His Heart to men, with all the treasures of love, of mercy, of grace, of sanctification and salvation which it contains, in order that those who desire to render Him and procure Him all the honor and love possible, might themselves be abundantly enriched with those divine treasures of which His heart is the source." — from Revelations of Our Lord to St. Mary Margaret Alacoque

The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a flaming heart shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, encircled by the crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross and bleeding. Sometimes the image is shown shining within the bosom of Christ with his wounded hands pointing at the heart. The wounds and crown of thorns allude to the manner of Jesus' death, while the fire represents the transformative power of divine love. The Feast of the Sacred Heart has been in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar since 1856, and is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. As Pentecost is always celebrated on Sunday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart always falls on a Friday.

The Roman Catholic acts of consecration, reparation and devotion were introduced when the feast of the Sacred Heart was declared. In his Papal Bull Auctorem Fidei, Pope Pius VI praised devotion to the Sacred Heart. Finally, by order of Leo XIII, in his encyclical Annum Sacrum (May 25, 1899), as well as on June 11, he consecrated every human to the Sacred Heart. The idea of this act, which Leo XIII called "the great act" of his pontificate, had been proposed to him by a religious woman of the Good Shepherd from Oporto (Portugal) who said that she had supernaturally received it from Jesus. Since c. 1850, groups, congregations, and States have consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart. In 1873, by petition of president Gabriel García Moreno, Ecuador was the first country in the world to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart, fulfilling God's petition to Saint Margaret Mary over two hundred years later.

Coming soon, how will our parishes be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?

Fr. Paul

Lets continue to look at how the devotion to the Sacred Heart came about…

The discussion of Alacoque's own mission and qualities continued for years after her death. All her actions, her revelations, her spiritual maxims, her teachings regarding the devotion to the Sacred Heart were subjected to the most severe and minute examination. Finally the Sacred Congregation of Rites passed a favorable vote on the heroic virtues of this "servant of God." In March 1824, Pope Leo XII pronounced her Venerable and on 18 September 1864 Pope Pius IX declared her Blessed. When her tomb was opened in July 1830, two instantaneous cures were recorded to have taken place. Her incorrupt body rests above the side altar in the Chapel of the Apparitions, located at the Visitation Monastery in Paray-le-Monial, and many striking blessings have been claimed by pilgrims attracted there from all parts of the world. Alacoque was canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920 and her feast day is October 16.

In his 1928 encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor, Pope Pius XI affirmed the Church's position regarding the credibility of her visions of Jesus Christ by speaking of Jesus as having "manifested Himself" to Saint Margaret Mary and having "promised her that all those who rendered this honor to His Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces".

Alacoque's short devotional writing, La Devotion au Sacré-Coeur de Jesus (Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus), was published posthumously by J. Croiset in 1698, and has been popular among Catholics.

-Fr. Paul